History shows that a losing record at this point in the season does not negate a team’s chances of making the playoffs.

Since the current playoff system (12 teams) was instituted in 1990, 25 teams have rebounded from a losing record after four weeks to qualify for the postseason, including the Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers in 2013.

Four of those clubs advanced to their Conference Championship Games, including the 2001 New England Patriots (1-3) en route to their Super Bowl XXXVI victory.

Since 1990, teams that started 1-3 or worse and made the playoffs:

YEAR

TEAM

RECORD

ADVANCED TO:

1990

New Orleans

1-3

Wild Card Playoffs

1990

Philadelphia

1-3

Wild Card Playoffs

1991

NY Jets

1-3

Wild Card Playoffs

1992

San Diego

0-4

Divisional Playoffs

1993

Green Bay

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

1993

Houston

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

1995

Detroit

1-3

Wild Card Playoffs

1995

Philadelphia

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

1996

Dallas

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

1996

Jacksonville

1-3

Championship Game

1997

NY Giants

1-3

Wild Card Playoffs

1998

Buffalo

1-3

Wild Card Playoffs

2000

New Orleans

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

2001

New England

1-3

Won Super Bowl XXXVI

2002

Atlanta

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

2002

Tennessee

1-3

Championship Game

2002

NY Jets

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

2002

Pittsburgh

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

2004

Green Bay

1-3

Wild Card Playoffs

2005

Chicago

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

2007

San Diego

1-3

Championship Game

2008

Minnesota

1-3

Wild Card Playoffs

2011

Denver

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

2013

Carolina

1-3

Divisional Playoffs

2013

Philadelphia

1-3

Wild Card Playoffs

The following teams fit the criteria:

New York Jets (1-3)

Tennessee Titans (1-3)

Washington Redskins (1-3)

New Orleans Saints (1-3)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3)

Cleveland Browns (1-2)

St. Louis Rams (1-2)

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4)

Oakland Raiders (0-4)

The Cleveland Browns rank No. 11 in our Quality Stats Power Rankings, making them the *cough* odds on favorite to reach the playoffs, at least for the purposes of this discussion.

A WORD FROM THE MILLIONAIRE MAKER

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The Dallas Cowboys are tied for first place in the NFC East with a 3-1 record and rank first in the NFL averaging 165 rushing yards per game.

Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray leads the NFL in rushing with 534 yards and five touchdown runs.

Murray has rushed for at least 100 yards and a touchdown in each of the team’s first four games and is one of only four players in NFL history to accomplish the feat. The other three – Jim Brown, O.J. Simpson and Emmitt Smith – are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The longest start-of-season streaks in NFL history with at least 100 rushing yards and a touchdown run:

PLAYER

TEAM

YEAR

STREAK

Jim Brown

Cleveland

1958

6

O.J. Simpson

Buffalo

1975

5

Emmitt Smith

Dallas

1995

4

DeMarco Murray

Dallas

2014

4*

*Active streak

A look at the game-by-game rushing totals for each of the four players during their streaks:

JIM BROWN (1958)

O.J. SIMPSON (1975)

GAME

OPPONENT

YARDS

TDs

GAME

OPPONENT

YARDS

TDs

1

at LA Rams

171

2

1

NYJ

173

2

2

at Pit

129

3

2

at Pit

227

1

3

Chi Cards

182

3

3

Den

138

1

4

Pit

153

1

4

at Bal

159

1

5

at Chi Cards

180

4

5

NYG

126

1

6

NYG

113

1

EMMITT SMITH (1995)

DE MARCO MURRAY (2014)

GAME

OPPONENT

YARDS

TDs

GAME

OPPONENT

YARDS

TDs

1

at NYG

163

4

1

SF

118

1

2

Den

114

1

2

at Ten

167

1

3

at Min

150

2

3

at StL

100

1

4

Az

116

2

4

NO

149

2

This Sunday against the Houston Texans, Murray will attempt to pass Smith – the NFL’s all-time leading career rusher – and join Brown and Simpson as the only players to start a season with a streak of five games with at least 100 rushing yards and a touchdown run.

BUT WILL DEMARCO WIN $1 MILLION THIS WEEKEND? ...

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Houston defensive end J.J. Watt had an 80-yard interception-return touchdown in the Texans’ 23-17 win over Buffalo. It marked the first interception-return touchdown for Watt in the regular season; he also had a 29-yard INT-TD in a Wild Card win over Cincinnati (January 7, 2012).

Watt is the only player in NFL history with at least 35 sacks (38.5), an interception-return touchdown and a receiving touchdown in his first four NFL seasons.

IF WE COULD HAVE YOUR ATTENTION FOR A SECOND ...

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Here's the payout breakdown for the Week 5 tournament, which you can start with Thursday night players or wait until Sunday ...

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BACK TO THE WEEK 4 STATS

Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck completed 29 of 41 passes (70.7 percent) for 393 yards with four touchdowns and one interception for a 123.3 passer rating in the Colts’ 41-17 win over Tennessee. Luck, who last week completed 31 of 39 passes (79.5 percent) for 370 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 140.4 rating in a 44-17 win over Jacksonville, is the first player in NFL history to post consecutive games with at least 370 passing yards, four or more touchdown passes, a completion percentage above 70 percent and one or no interceptions.

Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne had seven catches for 119 yards and a touchdown in Indianapolis’ win. With 1,029 career receptions, Wayne passed Isaac Bruce (1,024) for the seventh-most receptions in NFL history.

Rookie quarterbacks Blake Bortles of Jacksonville and Teddy Bridgewater of Minnesota each made his first NFL start today. Along with Oakland’s Derek Carr, three rookies have started at quarterback this season. It marks the fourth consecutive season (2011-14) in which at least three rookies started at quarterback in a September game. That is the longest such streak in the Super Bowl era.

Baltimore wide receiver Steve Smith, Sr. had seven catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns in the Ravens’ 38-10 win over Carolina. Smith has 429 receiving yards this season, the most ever by a 35+ year old player through the first four games of a season.

Smith, who is the Panthers’ all-time leading receiver with 12,197 yards, is the second player in NFL history to have 100+ receiving yards in his first game against a franchise for which he had 10,000+ receiving yards (Torry Holt, October 18, 2009 against St. Louis).

GREEN BAY JOINS 700 CLUB

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers completed 22 of 28 passes (78.6 percent) for 302 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 151.2 passer rating in the Packers’ 38-17 win at Chicago. The victory was the 700th regular-season win in franchise history and the Packers join the Bears (732) as the only teams to accomplish the feat.

Rodgers, who now has 25,196 career passing yards, reached 25,000 passing yards in 3,065 attempts, the fewest attempts in NFL history to reach the mark. Kurt Warner, who previously held the mark, reached 25,000 yards in 3,076 attempts.

Green Bay’s Randall Cobb had seven catches for 113 yards with two touchdowns and teammate Jordy Nelson recorded 10 receptions for 108 yards with two touchdowns in the Packers’ win at Chicago. Cobb and Nelson are the first Packers teammates to each have at least 100 receiving yards and two touchdowns in the same game since December 21, 1969 (Carroll Dale and Boyd Dowler).

There were zero combined punts in the Green Bay-Chicago game, making it just the second regular-season game in NFL history without a single punt (Buffalo vs. San Francisco, September 13, 1992). There has been one playoff game in NFL history with zero combined punts (Kansas City vs. Indianapolis, AFC Divisional, January 11, 2004).

The NFL approaches the season’s quarter mark beginning on Thursday night (CBS/NFLN, 8:25 PM ET) with the Washington Redskins (1-2) hosting the New York Giants (1-2).

Thursday’s matchup will be the 165th (including postseason) meeting between the NFC East foes. The Giants have won three of the past four games between the two teams and lead the all-time series 95-65-4.

After an 0-2 start to the season, the Giants secured their first win with a 30-17 victory over the Houston Texans behind running back Rashad Jennings career-high 176 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Giants also received touchdowns from tight end Daniel Fells and wide receiver Victor Cruz, who had five catches for 107 yards.

“I’m excited, it’s a benefit for our offense to play on Thursday night, because we’re going to go out there and we’re going to play up-tempo,” says Giants tackle Justin Pugh on the team’s short turnaround this week. “We’ve got to go out there and go down to a hostile environment and win a divisional game.”

Heading into Thursday’s contest at Washington, New York quarterback Eli Manning has won six of 10 regular-season starts against the Redskins at FedEx Field. In those 10 starts, Manning has 185 completions for 2,289 passing yards, the most of any active visiting player at FedEx Field since he entered the league in 2004. Manning’s 10 touchdown passes on the road against Washington rank second among active players, trailing only Dallas quarterback Tony Romo (12).

The career numbers for Eli Manning at FedEx Field:

RECORD

YARDS

TD PASSES

RATING

6-4

2,289

10

83.9

Meanwhile in Washington, the Redskins look to bounce back from a 37-34 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. In the loss, quarterback Kirk Cousins passed for a career-high 427 yards and three touchdowns, including an 81-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver DeSean Jackson.

Jackson now has 16 career touchdowns (11 receiving, three punt-return and two rushing) against NFC East opponents, tied for the most by any player since he entered the league in 2008 (Ahmad Bradshaw, 16). Of his 16 career touchdowns against the NFC East, seven (four receiving, two punt-return and one rushing) have come against the Giants, also the most by any player since 2008.

A look at seven statistical highlights from games played at 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 21, the third week of the 2014 season, via NFL Media services ...

The Philadelphia Eagles overcame a 17-7 deficit to defeat Washington 37-34. The Eagles, who overcame deficits of 17 and 14 points in their first two games, are the first team in NFL history to start 3-0 and overcome a 10+ point deficit in all three games.

The Dallas Cowboys erased a 21-0 deficit to defeat St. Louis 34-31. This marked the fourth time this season a team has overcome a deficit of at least 17 points to win, tied for the most through the first three weeks of a season since the 1970 merger (2011).

This is the first time each of the first three weeks of a season has had at least one 17+ point comeback win since 1982.

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos 26-20 in overtime. The game was the sixth Super Bowl rematch in the following regular season and the first since 1997 (Green Bay vs. New England). The defending Super Bowl champion has now won four of the six meetings in the rematch.

Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck completed 31 of 39 passes (79.5 percent) for 370 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in the Colts’ 44-17 win over Jacksonville. Luck and Pro Football Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas (November 12, 1967) are the only players in franchise history to complete at least 75 percent of his passes for 350 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in a game.

New England quarterback Tom Brady passed for 234 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots’ 16-9 win over Oakland. The win was Brady’s 150th career victory as a starting quarterback and he joined Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning (169) as the only quarterbacks to accomplish the feat.

Baltimore wide receiver Steve Smith had five catches for 101 yards in the Ravens’ 23-21 win at Cleveland. Smith has 290 receiving yards this season, the most by a player in his first three games with the franchise. Anquan Boldin had 287 receiving yards in his first three games with the Ravens.

Washington wide receiver DeSean Jackson had five catches for 117 yards and a touchdown (81 yards) in the Redskins’ loss against the Philadelphia Eagles, Jackson’s former team. Jackson, who had two 80+ yard touchdown catches with the Eagles, is only the third player in NFL history (Pro Football Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner and Art Powell) with an 80-yard touchdown catch both for and against a team.

Jackson, who had an 88-yard touchdown catch for Philadelphia against Washington (November 15, 2010), has accomplished the feat for and against both the Eagles and Redskins.

The last time there were more than seven teams with comeback victories of 10+ points through Week 2 was 1987 (eight).

The seven teams that overcame deficits of 10+ points to win:

WEEK

WINNING TEAM

OPPONENT

DEFICIT OVERCOME

GAME RESULT

1

Atlanta

New Orleans

13-0; 20-7

W 37-34 (OT)

1

Arizona

San Diego

17-6

W 18-17

1

Miami

New England

17-7; 20-10

W 33-20

1

Philadelphia

Jacksonville

17-0

W 34-17

2

Chicago

San Francisco

17-0

W 28-20

2

Green Bay

New York Jets

21-3

W 31-24

2

Philadelphia

Indianapolis

20-6

W 30-27

Three teams – Chicago, Green Bay and Philadelphia – won after trailing by 17+ points, the most through Week 2 since 1999.

INTERCONFERENCE ACTION: With the NFL’s late-season schedule packed with division games, the September slate features many exciting interconference matchups, including eight in Week 2.

With a 30-7 victory at Minnesota on Sunday, the New England Patriots now have a 40-9 (.816) record in interconference games, the best mark of any team in the regular-season since realignment in 2002.

The teams with the top five interconference records since 2002:

TEAM

RECORD

WIN PCT.

New England Patriots

40-9-0

.816

Pittsburgh Steelers

33-14-1

.698

Indianapolis Colts

32-17-0

.653

Tennessee Titans

30-19-0

.612

Baltimore Ravens

29-19-0

.604

Birds Flying Back: On Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals outscored the New York Giants 15-0 in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals improved to 2-0 with a 25-14 come-from-behind win. Arizona, which outscored San Diego 12-0 in the fourth quarter of the Cardinals’ 18-17 Week 1 comeback victory, is the first team since 1982 (Green Bay) to start 2-0 after trailing entering the fourth quarter in both games and not allowing a single fourth-quarter point.

The Philadelphia Eagles completed the NFL’s Week 2 slate on Monday Night Football by rallying for a 30-27 win after trailing the Colts 20-6 in the third quarter.

On Kickoff Weekend, Philadelphia was down 17-0 to Jacksonville before scoring 34 second-half points to defeat the Jaguars 34-17. The Eagles are the first team in NFL history to win its first two games of a season despite facing a deficit of at least 14 points in the second half in each of those games.

TEXANS TWO-STEP: The Houston Texans (2-0), who followed last week's 17-6 win over Washington with a 30-14 victory at Oakland this week, became only the fifth team in NFL history to start 2-0 in at least five consecutive seasons: Dallas Cowboys (1965-73), Los Angeles Rams (1966-70), Dallas Cowboys (1975-79), Chicago Bears (1984-91) and Miami Dolphins (1994-99).

Wide receiver Andre Johnson had six catches for 74 yards in Sunday’s win to bring his career total to 12,828 receiving yards, surpassing Irving Fryar (12,785) for 15th all-time in receiving yards.

Last week, Atlanta quarterback MATT RYAN completed 24 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown against Cincinnati. He has 62 touchdown passes since 2012, tied for the third-most in the NFL during that span. Of Ryan’s 24 completions, wide receiver RODDY WHITE hauled in five, helping the two combine for 530 career completions, the most by any quarterback and receiver duo in the NFL since Ryan entered the league in 2008.

Heading into Thursday’s contest at the Georgia Dome, Ryan has won 37 of 47 regular-season home starts during his career. In six home contests against Tampa Bay, he has a 5-1 record with a 100.6 passer rating. Ryan has compiled a 3-1 record in Thursday games, throwing for seven touchdowns and no interceptions.

Following a 37-34 overtime win against New Orleans on Kickoff Weekend, Atlanta lost 24-10 at Cincinnati (2-0) in Week 2.

“It was a tough loss, but in this league it’s about bouncing back,” says Ryan. “It comes quickly for us this week. We’ll take a quick look at this game and try to make some corrections and move on. It is a good thing we’re going on Thursday.”

Meanwhile in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers look to get on track after a 19-17 loss last week to the St. Louis Rams. The Buccaneers have won two of their past three games against the Falcons and lead the all-time series between the teams 21-20.

In the last matchup (November 17, 2013), Tampa Bay wide receiver VINCENT JACKSON had 10 receptions for 165 yards and a touchdown in a 41-28 victory. Since joining Tampa Bay in 2012, Jackson’s 449 receiving yards are the most of any receiver against the Falcons. Jackson is also tied with New Orleans tight end JIMMY GRAHAM for the most receptions (28) against Atlanta during that span.

Tampa Bay’s running back tandem of DOUG MARTIN and BOBBY RAINEY also seek to continue their rushing success against Atlanta. In three career games against the Falcons, Martin has rushed for 239 yards (79.7 yards per game) and three touchdowns. In Rainey’s only career matchup against Atlanta last season, he rushed for a career-high 163 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Since realignment in 2002, no NFC South team has won division titles in consecutive seasons.